New Delhi: Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani onTuesday launched four projects in the country’s northeastern region for the development of the silk sector.
Irani, through a video conference here, inaugurated a Muga silk seed production centre in Tura, Meghalaya; silk printing and processing unit in Agartala, Tripura; Eri spun silk mill in Sangaipat, Imphal; and a development project for sericulture in Mamit, Mizoram. Irani also inaugurated new office buildings of the Weavers’ Service Centre (WSC) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and Kannur, Kerala. She interacted with the people’s representatives, officials and farmers and urged them to generate awareness among the farmers and weavers about loan schemes available under the MUDRA Yojana and recently-announced income support programme for farmers, PM Kisan, and the pension scheme for workers in unorganised sector, Pradhan Mantri Sram Yogi Mandhan Yojna.
The Muga Silkworm Seed Production Centre (SSPC) in Tura, Meghalaya, is one of the projects taken up directly by the Centre Silk Board (CSB) for implementation under the Integrated Sericulture Development Project (ISDP) of NERTPS to create seed infrastructure units in northeastern states. The infrastructure facilities available currently with the state are insufficient to meet the demand of required quantity of Muga basic seed.
Most of the fabrics produced on handlooms and powerlooms in Tripura are sent to Kolkata, Bengaluru, Bhagalpur and other places for value addition by processing and printing. The silk printing and processing unit will lead to higher and sustainable growth in the entire textile value chain from fibre to finished products in the state and improve the local weaver artisans. Eri Spun Silk Mill in Sangaipat, Imphal East, Manipur, was approved with a total project cost of Rs 21.53 crore was approved in September 2018 and will be implemented directly by the state in co-coordination with CSB. Around 65 per cent of Eri cocoons produced in Manipur are converted into yarn within the state through conventional spinning device Takli, pedal-operated and motorised eri spinning machines.(PTI)
